“Is it necessary for others to change in order for me to be right?”
– from “The Desert” by Celestial Navigations

Short answer: no.

Long answer:

I will admit, there are many times I have wanted to smack the people who disagree with me. I admit, there are times I have wished I could concentrate the truth into a physical form and shove it down willfully ignorant throats. I admit, there are times I have wanted to make people open their eyes to the truth and act accordingly.

But I do not.

And I will not.

Ever.

That way lies the ruin for society, and for my own soul, and for the very truth I would be turning into a lie.

No, if what I believe is true, then it can, and will, and should only be advanced through the use of words, and force only applied to ensure that anyone and everyone may speak freely and without fear. It is only through discussion, through argument, through the testing of an idea that its truth or falsehood can be confirmed or denied. That has always been how society has advanced, through the endless war of words. Never by force.

And never by demanding, or enforcing, conformity with another person’s worldview.

If I am right, then I am right. If I am wrong, then I am wrong. Either way, trying make others change to suit me is the worst thing I could possibly do. It won’t make me any more right than I already am. But it just might make me wrong.